“We were satisfied with the spirit but not the mechanism of the EPC report,” said Wolfson Professor of Jewish Studies Jay M. Harris.

The EPC recommended that the grading scale be changed from 15 to eight points in order to eliminate the numerical gap between a B-plus and an A-minus and thus make professors feel less pressure to give A-range grades.

According to Harris, the Faculty Council endorsed the idea of eliminating the gap, but thought they might as well take the change one step further.

“We realized that there is a perfectly good scale already out there that everyone uses,” Harris said. “It is simple and elegant.”

Harris said if Harvard switched to the 4.0 scale, GPAs would no longer have to get converted when being reported to graduate schools and potential employers.

The Faculty Council also rejected the EPC’s recommendation that the percentage of A’s earned in a class be printed next to the student’s grade on his or her transcript.

The EPC said such a transcript would better communicate the meaning of Harvard grades to the outside world.

Students said they were pleased with the decision to reject that proposal.

“Such a system devalues student work and makes little sense,” Chopra said.

According to Pedersen, actual legislation addressing the Faculty Council’s proposals will be drafted early next week, allowing the full Faculty to vote upon changes that could go into effect as early as next year.

—Staff writer Jessica E. Vascellaro can be reached at vascell@fas.harvard.edu.